Brazil’s Carnival, the greatest party on earth, ended last month. For those who have never been, no description does it justice. The blocos playing in the streets, the samba schools parading through Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome, the drumlines, the costumes, and the collective joy of millions of people constitute a spectacle unto itself. In dark and divided times, Carnival reminds us that participation, creativity and shared celebration are not peripheral to economic life. They are part of what economic life is for.

And yet, financial support for arts and culture is often treated as a cost, not an investment. Whenever governments face fiscal pressure, these budgets are the first to be cut, while finance, technology and defense are protected as engines of the “real” economy.

This prioritization reflects a conceptual failure. Culture is not a sector in the way that manufacturing or construction are. It is a pervasive force that shapes the skills, creativity and social fabric on which all economic activity depends.

In London, the Notting Hill Carn

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